


Magic at 3am

by dragons_and_angels



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward first meeting, M/M, Magic, no hockey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-17 11:56:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11274924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragons_and_angels/pseuds/dragons_and_angels
Summary: The guy was a lot cuter before he had vomited on Sid's feet.





	Magic at 3am

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TaylorJ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaylorJ/gifts).



> Thanks to Taylor for the sign up! I had so many ideas, I had no idea which one to chooose.

Sid had set his alarm to go off at quarter to three in the morning but that didn't mean he welcomed the shrill beeping coming from his phone across the room - he would hit snooze if the phone was right next to his bedside and considering he had to cast this spell soon, he couldn't afford another delay.

Getting out of bed was hard though and Sid wished he could actually afford to keep some heating on overnight. When he got out of bed it was absolutely freezing and it didn't help that he had wooden floors in his bedroom, cool wood against his bare feet. After getting dressed and tripping over his dog, his cat and his shoes, Sid was more awake and ready to do the spell.

Connecting with Taylor took a while, mostly because she probably hadn't set up her alarm, preferring Sid to wake up her but eventually Sid was looking at his bleary-eyed sister on his laptop screen.

"I hate the moon, I hate magic, I hate everything," Taylor was muttering as the sound connected up. Sid frowned and wanted to scold her, you never knew when magic might choose to listen to you, but it wouldn't have done much good. Magic preferred Taylor out of anyone else in their family and she knew it too. If Sid said something like that, he wouldn't be able to work any spells for a month but Taylor could get away with it. 

"I've got an early start tomorrow, the last thing I want is to be up at this time either." Sid sounded more snippy than he meant to but smiled to try and lessen it slightly. Taylor looked like she wanted to fall back asleep.

"So let's get to witnessing." Taylor waved a hand at her screen, seeming to knock the laptop screen enough that the webcam camera moved.

Sid took a deep breath and put his laptop on the counter. The kitchen was dark, the only light coming from the single candle Sid had lit. The door flap made a creaking sound as Sam took the opportunity to head out into the back garden and Mickey, his cat, jumped onto the counter next to his laptop and started to purr at Taylor.

The spell he needed to do was tricky and only could be done between twelve and six in the morning. Three am was the best time and Sid really didn't want to have to repeat this spell tomorrow night. Recentering his magic, connecting with the Earth outside, would help him to keep his magic in check. It was far too cold to be outside as the spell should ideally be done but Sid had the water, the dirt and the tree branch needed for the spell.

"Don't forget the chalk," Taylor said before a yawn tried to split her face in two. Sid gave her a look, she didn't need to remind him what to do and when to do it, he had been doing this every month for four years, ever since he had moved out of the family home and headed down to Pittsburgh. The animals were a good substitute for the coven Sid needed around him but they would never be as good as the real thing. Hence the spell.

Sid drew the chalk outline of a five-pointed star, the right way up. Years of practice meant that the lines were straight as anything but he still fussed over one of the points of his star being bigger than the others.

"Sid, you're running out of time," Taylor warned and Sid nodded. The clock on his kitchen wall said three minutes until three o'clock and the spell had to be done by then.

"Right." He took a deep breath and put his hands in the middle of the pentagram. He had sprinkled a little bit of dirt and water on the middle but had put most of it on the points of the star. "I call upon the Earth underneath my feet and hands to strengthen my magic, to give me the control I need to remain strong as needed. I am witnessed by a member of my coven." Sid felt his hands beginning to sweat.

"I witness," Taylor said, her eyes bright and awake now, her voice firm.

Sid was about to start again when there was a sound from outside, making Sid startle and almost remove his hands from the wooden countertop.

"Keep going, Sid," Taylor said when she saw his distraction. Sid nodded and tried to ignore the thoughts about who was outside right now, in his back garden. Sam hadn't barked and he hoped she was okay.

"Please see my need and respond to my desire," Sid said carefully. "Give me the strength I need to achieve my goals, both magical and non-magical. I connect with my coven across the land and they are with me in everything I do. Witness my sincerity and my truth." Now Mickey had walked over the counter to look out the kitchen window. It faced onto the back garden and Sid wondered what was happening out there that was so interesting. "As the moon and the stars look down on me, please grant me my request." There was a stillness in the air and the clock struck three into that silence. Sid didn't feel the same rush of power that Taylor said she felt when she did this ritual but something settled inside of him and he breathed out a sigh of relief, only removing his hands when he was sure it was over.

"Great, Sid. It felt like it worked." Taylor yawned again.

"Hey, Taylor, can you stay on the line for me? I think I heard something outside," Sid said slowly as he looked through his kitchen window. It was dark, the only thing visible was the flickering light thrown up by the candle.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Taylor asked, far more alert now and concerned with it. You would think she was the older sister the way she treated Sid, not the younger by nine years.

"Sam's out there. I'm hoping she just found a big stick." Sid tried to smile but he had a feeling it was coming off more shaky than he meant. "Just stay on the line until I come back in, alright?"

"Sure, Sid."

Sid stepped out into the garden, careful to close the back door behind him. If anyone else but him opened it, there would be a loud creak, courtesy of one of his coven's spells given to him before he moved. He had seen enough horror films to know that when you went outside to check out the scary noise, the killer would be sneaking inside to hurt you when your guard was down.

Sam was in the middle of the grass but she wasn't alone. A man, thrown into shadow, was patting her head and crooning at her softly in Russian. At least, Sid assumed it was Russian. A friend of his, known as Gonch by all, used to mutter quietly in the same language.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my garden?" Sid was too surprised to sound angry about everything. When he heard the noise, he had imagined a witch from a rival coven coming over here to plant a jinx or a curse on him.

The man startled, Sid was surprised that he hadn't seemed to notice him at all, and immediately pulled himself up to his proper height. Which was a head taller than Sid. The moonlight was thrown across his face, warping his features into something foreign and strange.

"Dogs are great," he slurred and it was then that the smell hit Sid like a firetruck. The man smelled like he had bathed in alcohol and by the way he was wavering even as he stood still, that wasn't far off the mark.

The next thing he did was bend double and vomit all over Sid's slipper covered feet.

"That's just great," Sid said flatly as the man retched and Sam panted next to the both of them.

Fifteen minutes later, Sid was staring at the tall, drunk man who was now snoring on his couch. "I can't believe you brought him inside," Taylor was saying from the laptop. She sounded both amazed and scolding, rather like their mother, although Sid would probably die a swift death if he told her that.

"Well, the guy looked like he was going to fall asleep at any moment and if he does it outside in this weather, he would die." Sid really didn't need that on his conscience. He had blown out the candle and now the living room light was on, showing the man's face for the first time. He was a lot less terrifying unconscious with bright light illuminiating his features. His features were odd, mismatched in a way that was oddly pleasing to Sid and his eyes, from what little Sid had seen of them, were chocolate brown and put a new meaning to the phrase 'puppy dog eyes'.

"You're such a bleeding heart, Sid. Cast protection spells when you go to bed," Taylor advised and Sid said goodbye to his sister before he let her go back to sleep. The protection spells wouldn't do much, at least Sid's wouldn't, apart from maybe trip the strange man if he tried to approach Sid with bad intentions, but they weren't a foolproof shield by any means. Sid cast them anyway, it wasn't worth the hassle of what his sister would say if he didn't.

Rather than go up to his bedroom, Sid curled up on other, smaller, couch he had and fell into an uneasy sleep.

The sun woke him up the next morning and it was only when he was starting to wake up that he heard his phone alarm echoing from the bedroom. He hurried up to switch it off and swore when he saw the time. He had a Skype meeting with one of his colleagues in Australia in about twenty minutes and Sid needed to look at least halfway presentable.

Despite his disturbed night and his rushed morning, Sid got off his Skype meeting with a good feeling in mind. It was always like this after a night of renewing his magic, luck seemed to go his way and people were far more receptive to his ideas. Feeding Sam and Mickey took only a few moments before Sid went back into the living room where his unwelcome nighttime guest was still snoring on the couch. Sid had put a bowl next to his head and a blanket over him to protect him from the worse of the chill. The man had managed to move into a position, however, where his head was almost falling off the couch and his neck was at an angle that made Sid uncomfortable just looking at it.

"Wake up," he said, gently shaking the man. The man stopped snoring, only to start again as soon as Sid stopped shaking him. "No, we're not doing this," Sid said sternly. "Wake up." He had to half-shout it, but it worked.

The man opened his eyes, more than a little bloodshot and bleary, before mumbling something in Russian.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand. Do you know English?" He had known enough English to tell Sid he liked dogs, so hopefully he was more than passable in the language. Then again, it was obvious that the man was a fan of dogs considering he took the trouble to break into a stranger's yard to pet one.

"Yes," the man said. He looked around, confusion obvious on his face. "Where am I? Who are you?"

"What do you remember about last night?" Sid asked patiently and then immediately saw it was the wrong tack as the man sat up, looking alarmed. "Do you remember my dog, Sam?" The man shook his head but his expression had lightened at the sight of Sam curled up contently in front of the fireplace. "So I'm guessing you don't remember coming into my backyard last night and petting her at three in the morning."

The man looked very shamefaced right then and Sid felt his heart melt. Just a little. It was those eyes, they could make anyone feel guilty. Taylor was far more practical than Sid but he would have liked to see how she would have stood up in his position. Or not. "What's your name?" Sid softened his voice considerably.

"Evgeni Malkin," the man's accent thickened when he said his name and Sid had a small internal panic. He knew he would end up mangling it, he was bad enough with French, and it would be rude towards a guest, despite the man's unconventional entrance. The man managed a smile. "Americans call me Geno."

"I'm not American," Sid protested because that was important to establish first. Then he remembered his manners and stuck his hand out. "Nice to meet you, Geno. I'm Sid. This is my dog, Sam, who you met last night and I have a cat called Mickey."

Geno looked happier at the mention of animals. "Is that your cat?" He gestured to the windowsill and Sid turned to see a tabby cat licking their paw as they sprawled out on the windowsill.

"No, that is not my cat," Sid sighed. Cats were attracted to witches, there was no helping that, but he didn't really want to deal with another incidence when the owner accused him of stealing their cat. "Mickey is completely black and has a red collar." Taylor had wanted to get him a black collar and call him Shadow but he had attached himself to Sid at that point. They had been jokingly calling him Mickey Mouse and the name had just stuck. "Do you want some coffee?"

Geno made a face. "Tea?" He asked hopefully and Sid found himself helpless to resist.

"Let me go and see what I can find." Geno followed Sid into the kitchen, more than a little unsteady on his feet and Sid worried about the state of his kitchen floor. He wondered whether he should have just thrown his slippers out after Geno had thrown up on them, rather than washing them.

"Sorry about last night," Geno said, looking very apologetic indeed.

Sid, his thoughts on what he was going to do with his slippers after they were washed, answered absently, "about the being sick? Don't worry about it. I'm sure it'll wash out."

"I was sick? On you?" Geno sounded horrified, far more than the occasion warranted, Sid thought but he nodded all the same. This only made Geno groan and run a hand through his hair. "Great. Meet cute guy by breaking into garden and sick on shoes."

Sid felt a thrill in a place inside him almost long forgotten. "You think I'm cute?"

"You own a mirror?" Geno asked, seemingly deadly serious and Sid found himself smiling as he turned around to have a look in his cupboard to see if he has any tea.

"In that case," Sid said, turning back around. His heart was in his throat but he felt good about this. If he hadn't done the ritual last night, he probably would have danced around the question, ignoring Geno's comment as would have been polite to do so but right now he was looking at Geno and wondered if magic had sent him. Normally Sid was far more sensible about this, magic had its limits and Sid's especially, but now he was feeling daring. "I think the only way you can repair me for my ruined slippers is if you buy me a coffee at the place of my choice."

Geno didn't look quite so bad now. His smirk sent shivers up Sid's spine. "Deal."

Sid sent a silent thank you to whoever had brought Geno into his path. It wasn't done to be ungrateful after all.


End file.
